Target for use on water or land

ABSTRACT

A ball game apparatus having a rigid buoyant base member, an arch formed over the base member and legs projecting from the base member to minimize rotation of the apparatus in water and to render it more stable on land. A ball is tossed at the target formed by the arch over the base in an attempt to have the ball pass therethrough. The ball can also be bounced off the base member to pass through the arch.

mted States Patent 1191 1111 3,778,060 Lakeman Dec. 11, 1973 4] TARGET FOR USE ON WATER 0R LAND 3,023,007 2/1962 Lowrey 273/!6] Inventor: Thomas Ashley Lakeman g 3,617,059 iI/I97l Grant 273/102 A Branehes, Collington Rise, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Bexhlll'on'sea Sussex England 764,760 1/1957 Great Britain 273/105 R [22] Filed: Mar. 15, 1971 Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham [2]] App! l24405 Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind AttorneyHauke, Gifford & Patalidis Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. I7, 1970 Great Britain I2,696/ 57 ABSTRACT 52 us. (:1. 273/102 s, 272/1 B, 273/102 R A ball game apparatus having a rigid buoyant base [5]] Int. Cl A63b 71/02 member an arch formed over the base member and 581 Field of Search 273/ R, 102 R, 2 Projecting from the base member to minimize 273/102 S, 105 R, 105 A, 102 A, 161, 127 C, tation of the apparatus in water and to render it more 127 R 95 272/] B stable on land. A ball is tossed at the target formed by the arch over the base in an attempt to have the ball [56] References Cited pass therethrough. The ball can also be bounced off UNITED STATES PATENTS the base member to pass through the arch.

483,788 l0/1892 O'Carroll 273/95 A 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures TARGET FOR USE ON WATER OR LAND This invention provides an apparatus for use in playing water ball games such as water polo or land ball games.

In accordance with the invention I provide a ball game apparatus comprising a substantially rigid buoyant base member on which a ball will bounce and an inverted U-shaped member forming an arch over the base member. The base member may be made of wood covered with a layer of plastics material and the U- shaped member may be made of plastics material but any part of the apparatus may be made of any suitable material.

When playing games using the apparatus the U- shaped member may form a goal so that points may be scored if the ball passes through the arch, e.g. in playing water polo, or the U-shaped member may act as a hoop through which the ball must be propelled by a player at one side of the apparatus, the ball being caught by a player on the other side of the apparatus and propelled back again through the hoop and so on. When the U-shaped member is used as a goal an indicating flap may be suspended from the top of the arch. The base member may be flat or may have a convex or concave or other specially shaped surface so that a ball may be made to bounce on the surface and come off at a desired angle somewhat like a slip-catch practice apparatus.

When using apparatus in accordance with the invention a ball game may be played individually or by two teams. If the teams are using the apparatus asa goal the teams may endeavour to score goals by propelling the ball through the goal at the opposite end of the field of play which may be on land or water in which case there will be an apparatus at each end. Alternatively a single apparatus may be used as a goal in the middle of the field of play.

If the teams are using the apparatus as a hoop one team of players will be on one side of the apparatus and another team on'the other side and the ball will be thrown or otherwise propelled from side to side through the hoop and preferably bouncing off the base member.

It will be understood that I am using the term ball in its widest sense in this specification to include all elements that can be suitably propelled in games as descrived above, such as hand balls, rings, quoits and so on.

The U-shaped member may conveniently be about one foot to one foot six inches high and about one foot to one foot six inches wide at the base though other sizes may be used as described.

The base member which forms a platform may be circular, oval, rectangular or any other suitable shape in plan and will normally be somewhat wider than the base of the arch.

In order to make the apparatus relatively stable on land or in the water I may provide legs projecting outwardly from the base member with a foot at the end of each leg.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference is now directed to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying the invention showing the apparatus arranged for use as a goal;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of FIG. I drawn to an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 3 is an underneath plan view.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 the apparatus comprises a base member 1, an inverted U-shaped member 2, a removable target 3 suspended from the member 2, four legs 4 and four feet 5. The U-shaped member 2 which may be made of light weight but strong flexible tube of plastics material is secured in position on the member 1 by pressing the legs of the member 2 into sockets 14 provided for the purpose in the member 1 which may be made of bonded three ply wood normally called marine ply with a covering of a sheet of vinyl or other plastics covering material. The target 3 is suspended by cords 6 or in any other suitable way.

Referring now to FIG. 2 it will be seen that the feet 5 are secured in place on the legs 4 by a center pin 7 which is passed through a hard disc 8, a soft disc 9, then through the leg 4 and finally through the foot 5 which is in the form of a cup. The pin 7 has a disc-like locating head 10 and a bulbous lower end 11 which may be pressed through holes in the various parts as illustrated. The purpose of the soft disc 9 is to serve as a protection or buffer in case a player comes into sharp contact with the apparatus. Any other suitable method of attachment of the feet to the legs may be used or if desired legs with integral feet may be used. Although I have illustrated four legs it will be realized that any desired and suitable number of legs may be used.

Referring to FIG. 3 it will be noted that the base member 1 has a protective strip 17 around the edge and shaped corner pieces 12. The legs 4 comprise two lengths of material extended diagonally under the base 1 and between the base 1 and the corner pieces 12, the legs being secured at the center by a removable pin 13.

- The lower end of the sockets 14 (FIG. 1) for the U- shaped member will be seen as well as projecting pads 15 which form extra supports for the base member 1 when the apparatus is used on land. The pads 15 also serve as locating members for an anchor line 16 which may be wound around the pads when not required. When the apparatus is used in water a weight may be attached to the anchor line which may be extended so that the weight rests on the bottom.

If desired the apparatus may be used in combination with the apparatus described in my previousBritish Patent No. 764.760 published Jan. 2, 1957 by connecting the legs to an outer ring by coupling strips or by replacing the legs by rays connected to an outer ring as described in my previous patent.

In use for water play the U-shaped member 2 fits down into a partially submerged but buoyant base member 1 which holds the two uprights of the arch firmly in position. The top of the base member forms a platform at or slightly above water level. The target 3 forms a swinging indicator so that lnplay when a ball passes through the goal the target swings and indicates that a goal has been scored. The target may include colored means, e.g. red on one side and green on the other so as to readily identify the two sides of the goal.

The apparatus is very stable in water because it has a low center of gravity and a submerged vane may be used to minimize rotation when hit.

When the apparatus is used as a hoop the target is removed and then the base member may form a court on to which the ball may be propelled and off which the ball may bounce after passing through the hoop so that the apparatus forms a tennis type handball throwing or like game. Naturally instead of throwing players may use a bat or racket to propel the ball from side to side through the hoop.

It should be noted that each foot 5 is in the form of a dome or inverted cup. These feet give stability to the apparatus on land and in addition act in water to tend to prevent rotation of the apparatus. In addition the feet may be differently colored to indicate the relevant sides of the apparatus, for example, when used in competitive play.

What I claim is:

1. A game apparatus for use either in water or on land comprising a ball, a bouyant base member having a horizontal uninterrupted surface upon which said ball can be bounced, an inverted U-shaped arch member extending vertically upwardly from said base member, said arch member defining an opening sufficiently large to permit passage of said ball therethrough whereby said ball can be propelled directly through said arch member or can be bounced off said horizontal surface and through said arch member; a plurality of legs projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from the base member and flexible feet at the distal portion of said legs, and a target removably mounted to said arch member to swing downwardly therefrom across at least a portion of the open area defined by said arch member to be struck by said ball passing through said arch member.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said flexible feet comprises an inverted cup. 

1. A game apparatus for use either in water or on land comprising a ball, a bouyant base member having a horizontal uninterrupted surface upon which said ball can be bounced, an inverted U-shaped arch member extending vertically upwardly from said base member, said arch member defining an opening sufficiently large to permit passage of said ball therethrough whereby said ball can be propelled directly through said arch member or can be bounced off said horizontal surface and through said arch member; a plurality of legs projecting substantially horizontally outwardly from the base member and flexible feet at the distal portion of said legs, and a target removably mounted to said arch member to swing downwardly therefrom across at least a portion of the open area defined by said arch member to be struck by said ball passing through said arch member.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said flexible feet comprises an inverted cup. 